The Prank Bet
by TristaSetsuna
Summary: Lily Evans is Head Girl while James Potter is Head Boy. They both dislike each other for various reasons. As a bet is issued, Lily struggles to win and James and Lily begin to feel differently about each other.
1. The Bet

"James Potter!" she screamed up the stairs into the boy's dormatories. " Get your skinny  
little ass down here this instant!"  
  
  
" You called, my dear Lily?" His cocky grin made her anger grow and her insides  
melt. He dropped into a stage whisper as he said to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, "I  
knew someone was watching me in the Prefects Bathroom."  
  
  
Lily prefered to ignore that comment and snarled. "Don't 'dear' me! How could  
you set the Slytherin table ON FIRE??! We all know it was you." she ranted.  
  
  
"God," Sirius commented, " they sound like a married couple."  
  
  
"Don't you even hint that I would marry him, let along like him! James," she  
started on him again, " As Head Boy and Head Girl we are supposed to set an example  
for the school. I'm doing my job, but you aren't!"  
  
  
"I'm sorry," he murmered, as he tucked a loose strand of reddish-brown hair back  
behind her ear. Lily took a step back. "I won't do it again," he said as he flashed his  
friends an amused glance.  
  
  
" Professor McGonagall is going to chop you up into a million pieces and then,"  
she added with an evil grin, " I'll come and pick up them up, throw them into Hell, and  
eat popcorn while I watch them burn."  
  
  
"Wow," Sirius commented, " we knew there must have been some corruptness in  
you girl. You can't be that good. James you owe me those 15 galleons."  
  
  
Lily's eyes narrowed in suspicion and she asked,  
" Why would he have to pay you?"  
  
  
" He bet you were all good two-shoes. He said you had never done anything bad  
in your whole 16 years." Lily seemed to think about that and idea spat out of her mouth  
before she even realized what she was saying.  
  
  
" I bet you. 50 galleons. That I can do 5 pranks by the end of two weeks. But if I  
get stuck, maybe you could help? Just give me some slight ideas?" She asked  
questioningly.  
  
  
"Deal!" Sirius said automatically, shaking Lily's hand.  
  
" You in?" he asked James and Remus Lupin.  
  
  
" Sure," Lupin answered. Remus raised his eyebrows at James. They seem to say  
Hmmmm?  
  
  
" Fine," James said almost reluctantly, " but what if you loose?"  
  
  
" Homework for 3 months!"  
  
  
" Done deal! No homework for 3 months!" James shouted.  
  
  
" That's what you think. I'm betting soon you'll be 50 galleons short." Lily said  
with a grin as she turned and walked up the staircase to the girl's room.  
  
  
  
"Well," James said.  
  
  
" Do you think she can actually do this?" Remus asked. "What if she gets caught  
doing them? Snape might get McGonagall to take away the HG badge and title."  
  
  
" Nah," James said. " Lily's McGonagall's pet. McGonagall would never do that  
to her."  
  
  
" True," Sirius added. " McGonagall actually smiles at her. Freaky." The boys  
shuddered.  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
"So? You can do it! You're the smartest girl in the whole school- and you have  
done some bad things before." Shiara Kindal, Lily's best and maybe only friend, rattled  
on.  
  
  
"Oh? Really?" Lily asked sarcastically. Actually, Lily knew she was no good  
two-shoes either.  
  
  
" There is that strip club you worked at- and made over 300 galleons. You  
painted your neighbors house bright pink...."  
  
  
Lily winced. That strip club thing. That was an accident. When the ad said  
"waitress and other duties" she'd assumed "other duties" meant washing toilets or  
something. Not stripping. But she had stayed on the job after seeing how much money  
you made.  
  
  
The neighbor's house bright pink- that had been on purpose. And also the fact  
that the neighbors were the Potter's- well, that didn't hurt at all.  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
"James! I just had a thought. Remeber in our 5th year how your house was  
turned pink? And your mom thought we did it?"  
  
  
James groaned. "Of course. Mom made up scrape the paint of magically."   
  
  
Suddenly realization dawned in James' eyes.  
  
  
"It could have been Lily. And her spells were irreversable!"  
  
  
" Crap!" Remus groaned.  
  
"What did we geet ourselves into?" Sirius moaned and  
pulled a pillow over his face.  
  
"Oh crap."   
  
* * *   
  
  
Up on the landing, Lily smirked evilly. Then she cracked her knuckles.   
  
  
"You're right." she told Shiara. " I can do this."   
  
  
Shiara smiled back. "Watch out world. Lily's on the rampage."   
  
  
That night, Lily waited for Mrs. Norris to begin her nightly watch. As the cat  
walked by, Lily quickly put her asleep. Then she muttered, very softly, so no one would  
hear,  
  
  
"Floatum inflatia"  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
As the Gryffindor students walked to breakfast the next morning, they were  
stopped by the throngs of other students outside the doors to the Hall. Lily edged closer  
to Sirius, Lupin, and James, with Shiara close by. A thing resembling a great, big, furry  
balloon was shooting acroos the room. Up! Down! Up! Down!  
  
  
" What is that?" James asked, confused. Lily smiled mysteriously.  
  
  
"My cat! My cat!" Argus Filch came screaming into the room.  
  
  
"Mrs. Norris?" Remus aked. Lily and Shiara began to laugh hysterically. James  
turned to Lily, his brown, chocolatly eyes wide.  
  
  
" Did you do this?" he asked in amazement, knowing what the answer would be.  
  
  
" Shhh....I always did want to get that stupid cat."  
  
  
"Anyone who laughs gets detention! Evans! Potter! Lupin! Black! Kindal!  
DETENTION!!"   
  
  
Still laughing, the group left Filch trying to catch Mrs. Norris.  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
"That was pretty good," Sirius agreed, about 15 minutes later.  
  
  
" How did you manage to inflate Mrs. Norris?" James asked.  
  
  
"With a simple spell Lil made up in our 1st year. She uses it on Petunia, her  
sister, all the time."  
  
  
Suddenly, the doors opened, revealing a furious Filch dragging along his cat.   
Laughter began again.  
  
  
"Detention! Detention! Detention! Professor Dumbledore- someone had inflated  
my cat. Reverse it! Reverse it!" Filch was hysterical. Dumbledore looked on, amused.   
  
  
After trying to reverse the spell for awhile Dumbledore said,  
  
"I think this spell will stay on for at least two more days." Filch moaned and ran  
out of the hall.   
  
  
"I would like to thank whatever person jinxed that cat." A voice rang out from the  
Slytherin table.  
  
  
"But Horace," a petite brunette Slytherin said, " it could have been a Gryffindor."  
  
  
" Who cares?" came Horace's voice. "That cat's everyone's enemy." And for once, all of Hogwarts agreed.  
  
  
" I never thought a day would come when a Slytherin would thank us." Remus  
said.  
  
  
" I can." Shiara answered. "Its like when they ask Lily out." Lily glared. " I mean,  
Snape asks her at least once a week."  
  
  
"Snape has asked you out?" Sirius said, plainly shocked.  
  
  
" Well, Lily does try to ignore him and she hides from him too," Shiara started.  
  
  
" But somehow, he always finds me and asks me out. And I always tell him no.   
And I always will." Lily concluded.  
  
  
"No romance with Snapey?" James asked.  
  
  
" No romance with anyone." Lily proclaimed.  
  
  
" WHAT!" Sirius fell out of his chair. "James and I get new girlfriends every  
month." Lily's eyes narrowed.  
  
  
" THat is why you two are the hormone driven boys and Remus is the sensible  
one."  
  
  
" You two do cause alot of trouble you know." Shiara said. James' eyebrows  
went up. Lily explained.  
  
  
"There is the monthly, 'I don't understand' 'I thought he liked me' 'What went  
wrong?' Then they cry, cry, and cry."   
  
  
"Lil's pretty good at cheering them up though. 'James Potter is a snob, you don't  
need him!' 'Sirius Black is an idiot for dumping you.' "Forget him. Move on! Get  
revenge. Fall in love with someone else!'"br  
Lily blushed.  
  
  
" Do you actually say that?" Sirius demanded.  
  
  
" Of course. It's true. Those idiotic girls think you're the basis of living. But  
you're not!"  
  
  
"And what is the basis of living?" James asked laxily. Shiara answered before  
Lily could.  
  
  
" Lily Evans' code is study hard, be prepared, get good grades, and NEVER,  
EVER fall in love. EVER."  
  
  
" Not ever, Shi. How many times do I have to tell you? Eventually, I'll get  
married, but that's not my priority right now, k? My schedule is to study and finish my  
four pranks. Now, can we please get off the subject of Lily Evans non-existant love  
life?!" Lily huffed.  
  
  
"Whoa, TOUCHY! Someone wants a boy---" Shiara was cut off by an icy glare  
from Lily. "I'll be quiet now."  
  
  
"Good idea," Sirius muttered. "You do want to live."  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
On the way to Transfiguration (Lily's worst subject), James began to question her.  
  
  
"So, you've never had a boyfriend?"  
  
  
" No," Lily replied. Her answer was sharp and quick.  
  
  
" Ever wanted one?" James asked lazily.  
  
  
"No!" Lily exclaimed indignantly.  
  
  
"Why not?" James asked in the same bantering tone.  
  
  
"I don't want to be dependent on someone else, if its any of your business, which  
it is not. Also, it might interfere with my studies."   
  
  
"And," she told herself. "You're  
scared Lily Evans, but you'd never tell James Potter."  
  
He gave her that look--- the one where he turned his head slightly  
and raised one eyebrow.  
  
"Really...." he drawled.  
  
  
"Yes!" she snapped. "Now. Go. Away. Leave. Me. Alone." She gave him the Lily  
Evans glare. He seemed immune to it and gave her an amused wave and grin as she  
whirled around. Her long auburn hair slapped his face. Oddly, he felt his self-confidence  
falter as she stalked into the Transifiguration classroom. His self-confidence, the Potter  
self-confidence. No, it had to be his imagination. Potter's didn't lose their cool around  
ladies. He shook his head, convinced himself it was just his mind playing tricks on him, and followed  
her into the classroom.  
  
  
For some reason he watched her all during class. Within five minute he  
understood why she had a problem in Transifiguration. She didn't pay attention at all.   
Her fingers moved her pencil, and he knew Proffesor McGonagall assumed she was  
taking notes, but he recognized that black book. It was her diary, any Gryffindor knew  
that. She twirled her hair and looked up every few seconds, as if she were paying  
attention.  
  
  
James was fascinated by her hair. Its length was to the middle of her back, a bright shade of red, and slightly curly.  
  
  
"And for homework..."  
  
  
"Homework?" his mind asked. "That means he had been staring at her hair  
for--WAIT!! STARING AT LILY EVANS HAIR?! I must have thought she was  
someone else," he concluded.  
  
  
As the class left, Sirius gave him an odd look.   
  
  
" Prongs, you ok?" he asked concerned. " You sorta spaced out."  
  
  
" Fine," he said firmly and the discussion was ended.   
  
  
********Hello!! Thanks for getting reading!! Continue please, and you'll be on my eternal great list!!****** 


	2. In Which An Idea Is Made and Cheerleadin...

*******Still here?? Good! Have fun!*****  
  
  
As she settled comfortably into the plush chair near the fire, Lily let out a sigh. She had to come up with a new prank to play. What prank hadn't James, Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew done already?  
  
  
Suddenly, her green eyes lit up. Her hair seemed to grow more red. Oh, she was coming up with an awesome plan. She chuckled to herself. This plan would need alot of research.  
  
  
"What better time to start then now?" she asked herself.  
  
  
Inflating Mrs. Norris, that had been creative, this plan was just plan funny.  
  
  
Across the room, Sirius watched as Lily ran up the steps to the girl's dorm and came down again with loads of books.  
  
  
"It looks like Lily has come up with another idea." he remarked. James looked up. She was shifting through the books, muttering to herself, and grabbing her quill.  
  
  
"I guess she has." He had totally forgotten about his feelings during Transfiguration. Now all his energy and thoughts were focused on Quidditch. As seeker for the team and captain, he had to come up with new stratigies. The next Quidditch games was against Hufflepuff on Sunday.  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The next morning, Lily woke up extra early. It was going to be a boring Tuesday, except for going to the library. Researching for her prank was pretty fun.  
  
  
Quickly she ran down to the library. She had exactly 45 minutes until she had to meet Shiara for breakfast. The spell would take about one day to find the right word. Lily was good at making up new spells and testing them. The new spell would probably be ready tomorrow.  
  
  
As she leafed through books like Strange Spells for all Occasions, Simply Slimey Spells, and Your Guide to New Spells, she began to feel more excited. James Potter would certainly be loosing 50 galleons pretty soon.  
  
  
James Potter. Suddenly, she was remembering his chocolatly eyes, his smile, and even his messy black hair. Then she remembered how he had set the Slytherin table on fire. She laughed softly, it had been rather funny.  
  
  
She glanced at the clock at the wall. 7:45! She was late! Hurridly, she stuffed her parchments into her bag and ran into the Great Hall. Shiara was sitting next to Remus. "Already, we've been hanging out with these guys more." was her first thought.  
  
  
"Shiara, sorry I was late. I was in the library. Please don't be mad." Lily said while grabbing a muffin.  
  
  
" Course not Lil. But the library? I thought you finished all your homework last night."  
  
  
"I'll tell you later," Lily whispered. Lily's gaze traveled over to the Slytherin table. They wouldn't be so happy tomorrow. As she spied Snape her smile broadened. It was going to be so fun getting him back for liking her!  
  
  
"LILY! Are you smiling at SNAPE???" Shiara's voice shook her out of her thoughts, and at the last remark Lily began to choke on her muffin. James looked up from his meal, and Sirius was studying her face intently.  
  
  
"No..." she moaned, after suceeding in swallowing. " Thats gross Shi....Really gross."  
  
  
"Well, you were smiling towards the Slytherin table."  
  
  
"Shi, what you thought was a smile- well, it's really called an evil grin."  
  
  
" Evil gri- oh! You're planning something. I got it! And the Slytherins are the main targets."  
  
  
"That fast?" James asked.  
  
  
" What?"  
  
  
" I mean, you only got your idea last night."  
  
  
" You were watching me? Don't you worry Potter, the spell is ready." With that Lily looked at her watch, stuffed her last piece of toast in her mought, and mumbled,  
  
  
" Lets go." to Shiara. Shiara's black hair flew while she shook her head yes.  
  
  
The day flew by uneventually, if you can count James and Sirius getting their 25th detention of the year (its only been 2 weeks). Also, tht at every meal Lily could be hear muttering,  
  
  
"I Go win libra", which translated meant, "I'm going to the library."  
  
  
Shiara sighed as Lily ran off again after dinner.  
  
  
"Your bet is going to make me have no best friend for 3 1/2 weeks."  
  
  
"I'll be your best friend," Sirius muttered, while throwing his arm around her.  
  
  
"Very funny, Mr. Black," she remarked as she swatted his arm away.  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
In the library Lily laughed very loudly. Madam Pince lost her temper, she had been telling that girl all day to be quiet.  
  
"Miss Evans, GET OUT NOW!"  
  
  
Lily looked at the clock. 9:00! Time for the Gryffindor cheerleading practice! She ran through the stairs, into the common room, and up into the dance/gym section of the girls' dorm.  
  
  
"Well girls," she said while piling her hair onto her head, "Let's get started!"  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
Shiara was very bored. She was planning on watching the cheerleading practice in awhile. "Maybe," she thought,"Sirius, Remus, and James are doing something." With that idea, she headed down to the common room. Before she could open the door, it opened for her, and Shiara bumped into something very hard, very large, and very invisable.  
  
  
Her first instinct was to grab at the air in front of her, and as she did, Remus, Sirius, and James' heads and bodies began to show.  
  
  
"WEll!" Shiara smirked.  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
As Lily led her team through the cheers, she watched as Shiara entered the room. Lily brightened and waved. Practice would be over in about 20 minutes.  
  
  
"I think we should try on our uniforms." Lily said. The girls began to chatter excitidly.   
  
  
  
Shiara almost groaned! She had brought in 3 boys while all the girls were changing? GREAT!(that was sarcastic)  
  
  
"Well," James said from underneath the invisiblity cloak,"we will be the first men to see the prude Ms. Evans strip."  
  
  
"Not really," he thought he heard Shiara say. Before he could ask what she meant, Sirius and Remus gasped and the room went quiet. Everyone was looking at.... Lily?  
  
  
The girl in the room still had shining green eyes and bright red hair, but she looked so less....virginal(is that a word?) The girl,yes,um, Lily, had a perfect figure. Curves in all the right places, a flat,strong stomach,and, James had to admit, a very nice butt.  
  
  
Shiara hooted. The other girls were still in shocked silence.  
  
  
"You're not the 1st to see Lily strip. Not by a long shot." Shiara said as she walked out of the room. Sirius, James, and Remus followed.  
  
  
"You see,my dear boys," Shiara began," our lovely Lily is-was a stripper." With that Remus almost fainted and Sirius crashed into a wall. James just stood still.  
  
  
She motioned for them to follow her. "We'll go up to Lily's room so I can explain."  
  
  
Once in Lily's room, the boys looked around in surprise. The room was light green. Lily's bed was in the middle of the room. It had darker green sheets. Along the walls were pictures of Lily with her parents, Lily with Shiara, and Lily with some people James didn't know. Not all the pictures were taken with a wizard camera. The room was also impecably neat, with books stacked all over. James was surprised to find that the room didn't show a shy,little girl, but an ambitious young woman, eager to make her start in the world.  
  
  
"So," Sirius managed to stutter after a minute or two," Lily Evans is a stripper."  
  
* * *  
  
  
A half hour later Shiara took a device that resembled a walkie-talkie out of her pocket.  
  
  
"Hello? Lily, come in." Shiara waited a moment. Then-  
  
  
"Hey, Shi." Water splashed in the backround.  
  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"In the bathroom."  
  
"I looked!"  
  
"In the *Head Students* bathroom."  
  
"Oh, I didn't know you had one."  
  
  
"We do."  
  
  
"So, when are you going to come back into your room?"  
  
  
"Now." There was the sound of someone getting out of the bath. "See you in 10 minutes."  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
Lily quickly pulled on her pjs (short green shorts and a black tanktop) and a pink robe. As she entered the girls' dorm she was attacked by a mob.  
  
  
"We don't want to wear those uniforms," Catharine Sharp said. Ok, a mob of cheerleaders.  
  
  
Lily looked confused. They didn't want those gold and red uniforms, with the lion on them, that fit perfectly, and were *very* short?  
  
  
"But you wanted them 2 weeks ago. We voted." Lily pointed out.  
  
  
"We don't want 'em."  
  
  
"You're keeping them. We already paid." With that Lily burst into her room. Before she could register shock, Sirius called from her bed,  
  
  
"Take it off!"  
  
  
"Sirius..." her voice trailed off. When the sound of someone trying to fit in the closet reached her ears, she said, "..you know. You all do. Mind filling me in, Shiara?" Lily asked as she turned slowly in a circle. Remus answered for her.  
  
  
"She told us, we had remarked about something. We were watching cheerleading practice." Lily looked confused, so he added," under an invisibililty cloak. We won't tell." Lily took a deep breath, and tried not to scream at Shiara. After 5 minutes of silence, Lily just said,  
  
  
"Shiara, you can come out now."  
  
  
"Now, Evans, when were you going to tell me about cheerleading? You thought you could just walk onto my field on Sunday and cheer?" James asked.  
  
  
"You aren't going to let us?"  
  
  
"I want to see the whole routine. While your in uniform." he added. Lily sighed and muttered a spell under her breath. She was dressed.  
  
  
"You know, the girls don't want these uniforms anymore."  
  
  
"Well it's obvious why." Shiara said.  
  
  
"It is? I don't know why." Sirius fell off the bed. James was still watching her.  
  
  
"It's because," Remus began," you look better in it then the rest of them, and they don't want any boys falling for you."  
  
  
"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?? I'm FAT!" With that, Shiara proceded to fall off the bed.  
  
  
"Thank you Lily."  
  
  
"Hmmmm..."  
  
"You're like, a size THREE. Then everyone is fat huh?"  
  
  
"NO! That's not what I meant and you know it. It's just..." Lily's voice trailed off.   
  
"Fine Potter. Here's the routine." She began doing flips, cartwheels, front handsprings, and all sorts of stuff James didn't recognize. Then she began to cheer.  
  
  
"G-R-Y-F-F-I-N-D-O-R! Gryffindor! We're gonna win! We rock the air! Hufflepuffs you better beware! We got Potter, He's our man! He can fly faster than anyone can! Go GRYFFINDOR!" She ended with a split. (ok, i know the cheer was corny.)"There, you happy? Can we please cheer at the game?"  
  
  
James sighed. "Fine." he drawled.  
  
  
"Now,"Lily said."It is time for bed. You can all leave." She climbed into her covers and shut her eyes. The door didn't open or close. The light didn't go off. "GOOD NIGHT." she said firmly. As the door almost shut, she thought she heard Potter whisper, "Night Evans." Slowly, as she driffed off to dreamland, she smiled a sleepy smile in anticipation of the next day.  
  
  
  
***** Like? Please tell....reviews make me happy = and Hyper! ******* 


	3. Chapter 3: A Prank Is Played, A Secret I...

********Hello! this is James' thoughts ^Lily's thoughts and diary entries^ Sorry it took me so long, this is a long chapter******** br  
  
  
  
  
"Come on, come on, come on!!!" Lily shouted to over her shoulder at her bleary eyed companions. James wondered how she could skip at 7:00 in the morning.  
"Lily, STOP!" Shiara's voice was firm for someone who had woken up 20 minutes ago. Lily turned around. "I think you're enjoying playing pranks. You've...changed within two days."  
"You're being silly, Shiara." Lily said. But James noted her hair framed her *pretty* (why hadn't he noticed she was pretty?) face and her green eyes sparkled like they never had before. And, James noted, she couldn't seem to stop grinning. "Now, let's go!" And she herded them into the Great Hall.  
There was no one there. Why had this crazy girl bounded into the boy's dorm at 6:40, demanding they dress as quickly as possible and be in the common room by 7? And why had the listened? James asked himself.  
Lily didn't seem bothered by the fact that no one was there. She just sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Now that I'm here, can I go to sleep?" Remus asked. "Sure," Lily replied. Remus put his face down on the table. Sirius was surprisingly awake.  
"So Shiara," Sirius began. "How did you meet Lily?"  
"I believe it was when Lily claimed psycho boys had forced her from her car- They were planting dungbombs- and she asked if she could sit with me."  
" For the 1st and last time your prank had a good result." Lily said. At that moment, Professor Dumbledore entered the room. All five waved at him, Remus a little sleepily. Dumbledore flicked his wand and food appeared on the plates in front of them. As they began to eat, James was sure he heard Lily mutter "pur et ange, fem pi et mas h gre" or at least, that was what he thought.  
Lily looked up to see James staring at her. She raised her eyebrows.  
"So Potter, who will it be now?"  
"Excuse me?"  
" You dumped Melissa Gins two nights ago. Who are the candidates for this week's heartache?" The last part had come out bitter. James was surprised.  
"Ummm...." James was at loss for words. Why couldn't he speak? "I'm thinking about Samantha Perkins."  
"Who?" Sirius asked.  
"That Ravenclaw. 4th year. Blond, slim..."  
" Cradle robbing, Potter?" Lily asked.  
" I don't think going out with girls 3 years younger than us can be classified under 'cradle robbing'." The James Potter Lily knew and hated was showing. Lily felt an odd pang at that thought. She was settling into a sour mood. Staring moodily at her plate shwe frowned and ate unenthusiastically. Then some Slytherins entered the Hall, and her frown turned upside down. Soon the Great Hall was full of students and teachers. Lily watched everyone, the spell wouldn't work until 8:00, when classes began.  
"What's our first subject today?" she asked Remus.  
"Defense against the Dark ARts....with the Slytherins."  
"GREAT!" LILY cried and she hurried to the DADA classroom. The others watched in shock.br  
* * * br  
10 minutes later, while he was laughing on the floor, James realized why Lily had wanted to be with the Slytherins. The Slytherin boys had orange skin and their hair had been turned neon green. The Slytherin girls were purple with bright pink hair. They all resembled space freaks. All around the school, at 8:00, shrieks could be heard.   
"I think," Sirius muttered, as Professor Dapple, a petite blond woman, calmed down the class, "we are going to loose the bet." James agreed but actually found he was wondering what else Evans could come up with. Professor Dapple began to speak.  
"Open your books to page 327 and please read about Cornish Pixies. They..."br  
* * * br  
The Slytherins were furious and they had no one to blame. It was driving them crazy. And the spell wouldn't reverse. Nothing was working.  
"When I find out who did this, I'll kill the freaking idiot," Severus Snape was heard to swear.  
"Hey!" Shiara said. " This is the 1st week that Snape hasn't asked you out." Lily smiled, "Great!" As they passed some Slytherin girls, Lily watched amused. They girls were going nuts. "How will Horace like me when I'm purple?" one girl asked. Shiara muttered under her breath, " How would he like you when you're not?" The other girls gave them dirty looks.  
"I can't believe Potter's hanging around some filthy know-it-all mudbloods." The air around them stiffened. Lily ad Shiara turned to face them, the girls ignored them. "I mean, that Evans is a future McGonagall. And that Kindal is a nothing." Shiara and Lily began to walk away.  
"Maybe we are nobodys." Shiara stated.  
"Don't listen to those Slytherin bitches. They know nothing and we are going to amount to something." They had forgotten the boys were walking with them.  
"Right! We'll be the best team of Auror's around." Shiara said.   
"You want to be Aurors? Us too!" Remus replied. The girls looked a little surprised to see him standing there. "Oh," Lily said.   
As they headed to the common room, two questions bounced inside Lily's head: Why hadn't James defended her when they called her a mudblood? And why did she care that he hadn't? They weren't friends anyway.  
The minute they padded the Fat Lady, a throng of girls rushed at James and Sirius.  
" You two want to go upstairs and play Exploding Snap?" Lily asked Remus and Shiara. They agreed.br  
  
Upstairs:  
"Remus, don't you ever get jealous of the attention Sirius and Potter get?" Remus smiled at Lily's question.  
"Sometimes Lil, but other times I pity 'em."  
"Pity them!?" was Lily's outraged reply.  
"Yep, I mean, think about it, they never get any time alone."  
" But they like the attention. Makes them feel like gods or something." Lily argued.  
"Maybe. But not al--" The cards exploded and so did Remus and Lily (in laughter) as they looked at Shiara's eyebrows, which had been singed. Shiara scrambled to look at herself in the mirror.  
"They're not too bad." Shiara decided. "Let's go back downstairs and see what the *sex gods* are up to. This game is getting to dangerous to my looks."  
"*Sex gods*? I think not," Lily muttered, walking down the stairs.  
The *sex gods* had a girl in each lap, and innumerous amounts at their feast. As Lily drew closer, she heard,  
"James that trick you played today was fabulous!"  
"HIS TRICK???!! That was MY prank, thank you very much! WHat lies have you been feeding them NOW, Potter??!!" Lily's face was slightly pink and her eyes flashed dangerously. She's cute when she's angry But then he got mad.  
"I HAVEN'T fed them any lies, Evans! This was the first time the subject has come up. You didn't even let me open my freakin' mouth before you exploded!" Lily just glared and said sarcastically,  
"I'm sure you were going to tell them." She stormed back to her room. The minute she was there, she pulled out her journal and began to write.br  
Journal:  
^That James Potter is a real ass! I'm sure he was going to tell those girls that I was the one who played the prank. And those stupid girls! They believe anything that his fat trap says. I think Shiara and Remus sorta like each other, but Sirius is giving her looks. I'll call it the Battle Over Shi. Why Journal, does no one fight over me? I mean, I know I'm not that pretty, but I'm smart! It's not like I want them too, though. I've decided something. I think maybe one of the reasons I don't like Potter is that he reminds me of how Travis used to act with other girls.^  
One lone tear fell onto the page, and she brushed another off impatiently.  
^No reason to cry, right? I mean, that was over 3 years ago. I'm over it!^  
Slowly, Lily reached for the hidden box in er closet. She began to read the letters over and over, her eyes filling with hatred and fear at each glance. A knock at her door mader her hastily shove the box away, so that the next time she opened the closet it would fall out.br  
* * * br  
The next morning Lily was awakened by Shiara.  
"So, we're back to the old routine, huh? Should have expected it. C'mon, we have to meet the boys for breakfast."  
"Why do we have to hang out with them?" Lily asked.  
"Well....they've sorta become our friends, Lily, whether you like it or not."  
"Friends? FRIENDS?! Friends do not let others call their 'friends' mudbloods."  
"Lily, they apologized after your scene last night. They said since we ignored it they would too."  
"Oh..."Lily's voice trailed off. "Well, fine. I forgive Remus and Sirius, but I still hate Potter."  
"James."  
"Potter."  
"What is this? A contest who can say my name the most times?" James Potter stood in the doorway, his hair messy, his brown eyes laughing and ^Wow, he looks incredibly handsome and adorable this morning. Ahh! DId I just think that? How could this boy be rude, conceited, and the next minute be...different, quiet, caring?^  
"NO Potter, were weren't. Would you please leave so I can get dressed?"  
"Why would we want to?" came Sirius voice. ^You know what? I don't care what these boys think.^ With that, she began to peel off her shirt. She heard Shiara's "Lily!", Remus' "I'm going!", Sirius' "See you in a minute", and James' "Here comes the stripper," but he left also.  
Lily quickly got dressed and opened the door. Potter was watching her and Shiara's black eyes held amusement.  
"Practicing for the summer?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"Lily, I know they asked you to come back and work. I mean. Little Miss Leprochaun was a big hit, wasn't she?" Lily blushed.  
"When I did that stunt back there, I wasn't awake, ok? I was just sick and tired of everyone being so annoying. I mean, first the bet is on and I haven't even started studying for mid terms-"  
" Uh, Evans, hon, midterms are in December."  
"You're point?"  
"Its not even October."  
" Still don't get your point. And then the sex gods won't leave my room when I try to change."  
"Sex gods?" The voice of Albus Dumbledore came from behind them. Lily began to stutter and blush. "No need to explain, Miss Evans. I just wanted to tell you and James that I need to talk to you after breakfast." The both nodded. "See you then."  
"Sex gods? Is that what they're calling us now?" Sirius asked.  
"ONly since last night," Remus said.  
"Which reminds us, Moony, why were you in Lily's room with two girls for 45 minutes?"  
"I believe I've already told you that nothing happened."  
"Really?" Sirius asked.  
" Don't believe us? Look at Shiara's eyebrows." Lily said.  
"YOU'RE DEAD LILY EVANS!!" Shiara shouted and Lily had to duck as a muffin was thrown at her.  
"Now cut that out Miss. I can give you detention." Lily giggled.  
"You wouldn't dare." Lily just began eating. The Slytherins were still purple and orange. as Snape walked by Lily called,  
" Hey Severus! You look great this morning!" Snape turned bright red, which clashed with the orange, making him look like a walking sun with black hair. That cracked Lily and Shiara up. The five chatted about everything and nothing but the conversation was cut short when Samantha Perkins came and sat in James' lap.  
"Hey Jamsie," she purred into his ear. ^This girl has confidence^ Samantha planted a warm kiss on James' lips and Lily was surprised and disappointed to see that he kissed her back. ^Why do I care?^  
"Sorry James." Sirius said. "No snogging at the breakfast table." Samantha just laughed and floated towards the Ravenclaw table. It was obvious Potter had asked her out. ^Or to make out^ Before anyone could say anything, the bell rang. Lily and James made their way to Professor Dumbledore.  
"Can you tell me why you go out with her?"  
" Well, she's pretty. And the school expects me to go out with someone new. And, well, Melissa was boring and I don't like being bored." Lily shot him a look of hatred and her heart screamed ^JUST LIKE TRAVIS!^ She didn't say anything because they had reached the Headmaster. Dumbledore motioned to go into the other room.   
"This year, I'd like to have a Welcome Back Ball for the 6th and 7th years. As Head Boy and Head Girl, you will have to plan it."  
"Professor Dumbledore, when would you like it?"  
" ON the 9th of October please, Miss Evans. Thats 3 weeks from today."  
" The last day of the bet, Evans."  
"Excuse me?"  
"Never mind, Professor."  
"I've booked 3LW (3 Little Witches [lol]) already so you don't need to worry about music. But we will need food, posters, decorations,... WE won't charge admission, the school will give you money. This is now your responsibility. And remember, the Head Boy and Head Girl have to go together." Lily blanched, but she nodded in agreement.  
As they walked to potions, Lily said,  
"Great! I get to spend most of my spare time with you. I'm thrilled."  
"Join the club, Evans."  
In Potions, Lily normally sat with Peter Pettigrew, but he had to help his sick mother at home. His father had run off when Peter was born (a/n: who would stay?). Lily got to work by herself. They were making a highly complex sleeping draught, the person/animal could be knocked out for days. Her potion was done quickly, but needed to simmer over night, so she took out her journal. Professor Compote, a witch, wouldn't mind.br  
^Jounal,^ br   
^Today I found out Potter and I have to work together to arrange a Welcome Back Ball. Yipee! It's great how our friends are friends and we have to spent time together anyway. He's an arrogant fool with a new girlfriend, Samantha something-or-other. She's a girl with a big chest. One would expect even a big stupid prat like him to know better. She probably wears a push-up and padded bra! Yep, I bet that's it. And he'll dump her in a few weeks anyway (why do i suddenly feel much happier?) I mean, I don't care who he dates^br  
But for some reason her mind said ^really?^ As the bell rang, she shut her book and rushed to the Charms classroom. She sat down and waited for Shiara. Professor Flitwick allowed her to sit with whomever she wanted since she excelled faster than the others.   
Today they would be learning locking charms. All different kinds. The locking charm could work on windows, doors, hall locks, etc. Lily had already learned this charm two years ago.  
" Lily, would you like to do a demonstration of the locking spell?" Professor Flitwick asked when he came in. Lily stood up and rolled back her sleeves. Then she closed her eyes, pointed at the window, and said "closck" slowly. The window shut with a bang and Lily smiled in satisfaction as the whole class heard it lock.  
"Beautiful Lily! That was fantastic. 20 points to Gryffindor." Lily beamed and sat down. One by one, her classmates began to try to close the window. Most failed. ^ It's taken Potter 5 times to get that right!^ br They were loaded with homework that night, but somehow they five managed to finish it and ended up, once again, in Lily's room, in their pajamas; their school robes on the floor.  
"Oooh! I have an idea!" Sirius yelled.  
"yes?" Shiara asked. "Thats a first." Even Sirius laughed.  
"Let's try to find," Sirius' voice went deeper," SECRETS OF LILY EVANS!"  
"Fine," Lily said slowly. "But my journals are off limits." Only James and Sirius played the game. They went through her dresser and her desk until Lily said,  
"Sirius, don't go in there. That's my underwear draw."  
" Girls sometimes hide sentimental items their."  
" But you see," Lily began," we also keep our underwear there." The draw shut with a bang on Sirius' hand (OW!)  
It was then that James got his *brillant* idea to open her closet doors. As it opened, a plain brown shoebox fell to the ground. Panic contorted Lily face. What is this?  
"NO!! DON'T OPEN THAT!!" Lily gasped and lunged for it.  
"Sorry, only journals were off limits."  
"James, PLEASE!" She seemed oblivious to the fact that she had called him James. All her thoughts were on the box. ^He can't read that. He can't!^ She tried to grab it away, but James was taller than her. Finally Remus and Shiara pulled her off James. Sirius, it seemed, liked to watch his friend get attacked.  
"Now what can be in here?" James rattled the box. "Love letters? To a boy? Some bad pictures?" James looked at the letters. "No, letters to you. Sirius, Remus, Shiara, you can't read them until I do." EVeryone watched as James grew angrier and angrier by the minute. The words of the short letter rang in Lily's ears: You thought I liked you? You're the ugliest girl alive. No one will ever love you! I only went out with you because I was bored. Because everyone expected me to have a girlfriend. When James looked up, his voice was harsher than Lily had ever heard it.  
"You can't believe these!" The others looked bewildered.  
"They're true."  
"No they're not!" He flung them around the room. Lily moved to pick them up.  
"DON'T touch them," James snarled. So instead, Shiara did and as she read them she grew sad and looked at her friend with pity.  
"Lily Evans....please don't tell me you believe any of this." Shiara said as she gave the letter to Sirius and Remus."Why didn't you tell me about this? I knew something happened before our 4th year. You came back so...cold. You swore off boys. And you wouldn't talk about it." Lily closed her eyes and when she opened them, everyone saw the raw pain she had never learned how to deal with. Then to everyone's surprise, she began to sob. She collapsed to the floor. Shiara ran to her and held Lily tight. The boys stood together, not knowing what to do.  
Through her incoherent sobs, the story poured out. That awful summer, when Lily had met Travis Eagan, a 15 year old boy in America. For a month Lily and Travis were an item in California, where Lily was visiting her aunt and uncle. Lily had planned on telling Shiara on the Hogwarts Express. But then, in England, those horrible letters came. And they had hurt. ^They still do.^  
"Why did you save them then?" James demanded.  
"They remind me of something I realized after my parents were murdered: loving people is a waste of time. They either hurt you or die." Lily had finally been able to compose herself and her eyes had dried. "Now, to bad you forgot to take a picture. You're never seeing me cry again. And tomorrow, we're not talking about this."  
"You're right." James agreed. Lily raised an eyebrow. "We're talking about this now." With that he muttered "closck" and the door and windows locked shut.br  
********How'd ya like this chapter? It's one of my favorites! Please review! The next chapter has already been started so give me a few days to get it up. Have a good summer! -Trista *********** 


	4. Chapter 4: Changes Occur, Detention is S...

"Dammit Potter!! Unlock this door!" ^Oh, God, I'm having such a bad day, why won't he  
leave me alone?^  
  
"No." He sat down at her desk. How had this girl believed what that awful boy  
had written? Lily was pounding on the door, using all her strength and some spells to  
try to unlock the door. Nothing worked.  
  
Defeated, she sat down. "So, what are we going to talk about?"   
  
"Him. You. What happened. Now spill." James said.  
  
Lily was furious. She couldn't keep her emotions in check, and, to her horror, her  
eyes filled with tears. Mutely, she shook her head. She didn't want to talk.  
  
"Lily," Shiara said, as she tilted Lily's face up so they were eye to eye, " you have to let it  
go. The only way you can is to tell us."  
  
Lily took a deep breath and began to cry and speak at the same time. "I thought he liked  
me!" she burst out. "But he didn't. He just used me for a month. 'I was just bored.'" She  
mimicked his letters. Shiara was muttering comforting phrases in her ear. " GREAT! I  
sound just like one of those stupid Gryffindor girls."  
  
"Lily, you are a Gryffindor girl." Lily preferred to ignore Shiara's comment.  
  
"Then, when I got home, after the letters came, I realized Dena, Astrid, Celeste, Fane,  
Hayden, and Madison were lousy friends and were mean to others....Just like Travis. I  
pushed them away from me and they left. Only you wouldn't leave me Shiara." Lily said.  
  
" You were friends with Dena Valley, Astrid Queen, and Celeste Blossom?" James  
asked.  
  
"And Fane Windleton, Hayden Middle, and Madison Heir?" Lily and Shiara nodded at  
James and Sirius' questions. Astrid, Dena, and Celeste were former girlfriends of James  
and Sirius. Fane, Hayden, and Madison were rivals of James'.  
  
"Now I suddenly realize how you always knew what to say to those other girls. You  
knew how they felt." Shiara said.   
  
" Then at Hogwarts I just threw myself into the schoolwork to forget the pain."   
the five sat in silence, Shiara on the bed, Remus next to the bed, Sirius at the desk, and  
James and Lily in the middle of the floor, next to each other.  
  
" I'm really sorry about your parents. I know how you feel." James said softly. ^ There!  
he was doing it again! Confusing me! Who is the real James Potter? ^  
  
"Thanks," she said, equally soft. They talked for hours. Lily learned that James had also  
lost his parents to Voldermort. James listened to some of Lily's fondest memories and  
Lily listened to his. As James fell asleep against his will, his last thoughts were, " How  
has this girl lived across the street from me and I never knew anything about her? And I  
can't hurt girls like Travis hurt Lily. I'm changing my ways...."  
  
  
The next morning, James awoke to Remus saying,  
  
"We're late! James, wake up!!" Remus, shut up! What's that cuddly thing next to me?   
He opened his eyes. Lily.  
  
"How'm I supposed to wake her up today? " Shiara thought for a moment. "Lily, FIRE!!"   
There was no movement from Lily. " Lily, you failed all you classes and you're not Head  
Girl."  
  
"WHAATT?!" Lily woke up with a scream.   
  
"Just joking. We're late for class."  
  
"20 minutes late!!" Lily hurriedly put on her school robe and James donned his. Then  
they all rushed off to Transfiguration.  
  
As they burst into class, Professor McGonagall said,  
  
"Miss Kindal, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin. Sit down. Detention tonight. And 100 points from  
Gryffindor. " It was then Lily realized that the class was staring at her and James. ^  
What the Hell? OH MY GOD!!" She had looked down and saw that James and she had  
come to class in their pajamas. James was wearing a white cotton tee and plaid boxers.   
And, she was wearing, oh god, her lacy nightdress. It was black and very short. Shiara  
had nicknamed it the prostitute pj. Both thought at the same time ^ Oh, we're  
DEAD!!^  
  
"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. Would you like to explain why you're wearing pajamas to my  
class?" The rest of the students were snickering. " Everyone else seemed to have time to  
get dressed this morning. Please go see the Headmaster." McGonagall had an odd smile  
on her face.  
  
^He's going to kill me. I can't believe this! Why didn't I remember to get dressed?^  
  
Oh, I hope Dumbledore understands. It's definite we're getting detention. They both  
sighed.  
  
" How did this happen?" James asked Lily. She shook her head sadly and said,  
  
"I have no idea." They had reached the gargoyle. "Canary Creams."  
  
"Do you know what Canary Creams are?" James asked. Lily said no. "Me either."  
  
As they walked up the stairs, they heard Hagrid talking to Dumbledore.  
  
"I think nifflers would be a good addition to your Care of Magical Creatures class,  
Professor."  
  
"Thank you Hagrid. I'll speak to you later about your suggestion." As the door opened,  
Hagrid bellowed.  
  
"Lily, James, wat 'appened to ya?"   
  
"We'll tell you later Hagrid." Lily smiled sweetly.  
  
"Sure. Stop by at my hut for awhile."  
  
Dumbledore looked amused as his Head Boy and Head Girl entered with their school  
robes over their pajamas.  
  
"Um......"  
  
"Hello......"  
  
"Would you like to tell me what this is all about?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"All right. You see, Professor McGonagall sent us here." Lily began.  
  
" We were late. Last night Remus, Sirius, Shiara- do you know Shiara Kindal,  
Professor?- Lily and I were in Lily's room talking. We all fell asleep."  
  
" When we woke up we were late for Transfiguration. Our friends forgot to mention we  
didn't get dressed."  
  
"They got detention, but McGonagall said to see you." James finished. Dumbledore  
surprisingly chuckled. (a/n: why are we surprised? he always laughs or has a twinkle in  
his eye)  
  
"Unfortunately, I have to give you detention. But I find this story very funny."  
  
"Um, Professor," Lily said timidly. "I don't mean to be rude, but we missed breakfast,  
and well, I was wondering if you could-" Lily stopped short. Dumbledore had just  
conjured some bagels and cream cheese and butter.  
  
"Help yourself." He smiled. " How are classes so far?"  
  
"Great!" Lily answered. "They've been easy."  
  
"Yep. Transfiguration is a breeze." James added.  
  
"It is not!" Lily argued.  
  
"It might be if you paid attention while we took notes instead of writing in your diary."   
Lily blushed and panicked as he said this. Professor Dumbledore just smiled. The three  
chatted like old friends.  
  
"Now that you've finished, I suspect you both want to change into some clothes. Please  
meet in the Great Hall at 10:00 PM, tonight."  
  
The trudged up to the common room. When Lily came down James was waiting for her.   
She was wearing a brown sweater and black pants. Her hair was up. She always keeps  
her hair up when she has classes.   
  
"It's off to....Divinitation." James said. When they got to class, eyes followed them and  
Professor Evangelpel put them together.  
  
"Stuck with you again, Potter?" Lily half joked.  
  
"Guess so, Evans." They were doing advanced crystal ball gazing. ("You can go first  
Potter)  
  
"Um....I see something like a cliff. That means danger. A heart. Well, duh, that means  
love. Wonder who you're falling in love with Evans. And a hatchet. That means pain."  
(a/n: I'm making all this signs up.)  
  
"Lovely," Lily said. "I've got a bad cup. You've got a heart too. And a cliff. Also a  
hatchet. And also....what's that? A grim?" The room had gone silent for the second time  
that day. Lily looked down to make sure her clothes were on. " But I don't think I'm that  
great at gazing, so you're probably not going to die or anything." Before anyone could  
reply the class was over. Lily was taking Arithmancy next, while James, Shiara, Sirius,  
and Remus were taking Muggle Studies. As Lily headed towards her classroom, Booker  
Stevenson held the door for her.  
  
Who's that?" James watched as the boy gave Lily a note.  
  
Lily looked down. It said: DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CLASS IS OVER. She shrugged and  
gave a slight smile.  
  
James saw the shrug and smile and wondered what it meant. And for the 1st time that  
day it was his fault he was late for class.  
  
At lunch Lily opened the note. What she saw shocked her. It read:  
  
Sparkling Green Eyes  
Auburn Red Hair  
When She Smiles At You  
You Forget Anyone Else Is There  
Roses Are Red   
Violets Are Blue  
Lily, I think I love you  
  
And it was signed,  
Booker Stevenson  
  
" Lily, what is that?" Shiara took the note and read it. The next minute her pumpkin  
juice was all over Sirius' face.  
  
"What do I tell him?" Lily asked, but she was preoccupied. Potter and Samantha weren't  
at lunch. ^ And you care because?^ Finally he came in, looking slightly relieved. He  
gave her a full smile, so like the arrogant Potter. His lips taunted her. ' I know you were  
looking for me. I am irresistible to women, even cold men-haters.' ^Did I just call myself  
a man hater?^  
  
"How was arithmancy?" He asked, looking nervous.  
  
"Forget that James! Check this out!" Shiara brandished the note around. James choked  
on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Slowly he swallowed.  
  
"What am I supposed to do? You are guys. What happens when a girl doesn't love you?   
How does she tell----Oh! I'm stupid! I'm asking the wrong guys."  
  
'Don't look now Lily. He's watching us." Shiara said as 3 boys head swiveled towards  
the Ravenclaw table.  
  
"Don't you guys look either! He'll know we're talking about him." Lily sighed into her  
food. " Why does he like me? I've spoken to him only about 20 times."  
  
"That was more than you've talked to me, Sirius, and Remus before a few days ago."   
James told her.  
  
"No, I've talked to Remus lots. And I've yelled at many times Potter." She used to talk  
to Remus alot? Why didn't he tell us?  
  
"I don't see Booker until Monday, I'll just....think about what to say 'til then. Ugh, being a  
person is so complicated." Lily muttered. James watched as heads swiveled to look at  
him. He knew the news of his breakup with Samantha was already in the hands of the  
school gossips.  
  
"Uh, I've broken up with Samantha." The other four dropped their forks.  
  
"Why?" Sirius demanded.  
  
"She....was....to smart for me." ^To smart for him! That means no way will he fall for  
you Lily Evans! HEY! Who said I wanted him to like me?!^  
  
Stupid remark James, stupid remark.  
  
Four pairs of eyes stared at him. He shrugged uncomfortably.  
  
"Evans and I have detention tonight."  
  
"Yeah, it was just so nice of you all to tell us you were in our pajamas." Lily said.  
  
"We didn't realize that until we got there. What time is your detention?" Shiara asked.  
  
"10:00 PM," Lily answered.  
  
"Oh, we have it at 11. We won't be together." Remus muttered.  
  
"Evans, we need to begin planning for the Welcome Back Ball (WBB)."  
  
"We're having a WBB? Awesome!! We have a Hogsmeade weekend soon. We'll buy new dresses." Shiara declared.  
  
"Do you think we can meet today? After our last class? I have Quidditch practice at 6:30, and then the detention. And I do have to do my homework." Lily thought for a moment and said,  
  
"Yeah. That sounds good. I have cheerleading practice and stuff to do. Yeah, thats fine Potter."  
  
  
The next class was Herbology. Professor Sprout was a nice teacher, with a warm smile. Lily and Shiara quickly finished the task of collecting invisable sun roses. Then they began to talk.  
  
  
"Who should I invite to the WBB?" Shiara asked. "You have to go with James. I'm thinking about asking Tristan Verde."  
  
"He had chiken legs." Lily said. A snort was heard from behind them. It was Sirius.  
  
"Chicken legs?" he asked.  
  
"Yep. Chicken legs."  
  
"Well, I'm still asking him." Shiara said firmly.  
  
"Remember," James added with a twinkle in his eye, "you have awhile to think about it.  
  
10 minutes later, Lily was walking to the library with James.  
  
"Allright. I think we should start planning the food first. I spoke to Professor Dumbledore before and he said that we had to plan a menu. Then we needed some snacks because couples don't have to order food." Lily stared, she couldn't help it. Had James Potter just said that? Finally she nodded.  
  
"How about pot roast with noodles and ginger snap gravy?"  
  
"And maybe chicken parmigana (a/n: sp?)and spaghetti with marinara sauce." James said.  
  
"And, for some...picky...eaters, they can have chicken strips (a/n: BRIELLE!)."  
  
"I like it!" James proclaimed. They began to write it down.  
  
"Next, we need a sign." She wrote:  
YOUR HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL INVITE ALL 6TH AND 7TH YEAR STUDENTS TO THE WELCOME BACK BALL, TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 19TH. THE BALL WILL TAKE PLACE FROM 6:30 PM TO 11:30 PM. YOUNGER STUDENTS MAY BE INVITED. DRESSING IS FORMAL (DRESSES, TUXES)  
YOURS,  
LILY EVANS AND JAMES POTTER  
  
James just smiled and said,"Looks good to me." Lily enlarged it ("engorgio") and duplicated it ("duo"). Then she went to put them up around the school. James began to look at the Honeydukes catalogue. He circled choclate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and some other items. When Lily came back he looked at his watch.  
  
"Can we wrap this up?"  
  
"Sure. See you later."   
  
  
On the Quidditch pitch James looked at his fellow players. Their keeper, Brian McFinneran, was a good blocker and a fellow 7th year. His chasers were Celeste Blossum, Azura Philo, and Hale Kilgore. Celeste was a 7th year, Azura a 6th, and Hale a 6th year boy. His beaters were Rory Revillagigeda and Fabian McLeod. Both boys were 5th years, but they were"unbeatable". They practiced and practiced,with James shouting orders or suggestions every few minutes. When 9:30 came around, the team was eagarly looking foward to bed. James was mad that he had detention.  
  
When they stumbled into the common room, only a few people were there. What was odd was that their was 5 girls who would usually rush over to James, but tonight they just sat in their chairs talking quietly. They were probably cheerleaders.  
  
James plopped down next to a dozing Lily. He shook her. She woke up with a start.  
  
"Oh, hey James."  
  
"Hi Lily. Tired?" he teased.  
  
"Exhausted. I worked us all to hard." They had been calling each other James or Potter, Lily or Evans depending on their moods. Tonight they were just tired and had called an unoffical truce of friendship.  
  
"I sorta like the common room like this. Quiet. Peaceful. No girls at my feet." That was when he realized that Lily's head was on his shoulder. He was about to shake her off when he realized, with a chuckle, that she was asleep again. I'll just rest for a few minutes. James thought as he closed his eyes.  
  
The next minute, or so it seemed, James opened his eyes. It was 10:05!  
  
"Lily!! We're late!" They both ran down to the Great Hall, where they met with a frowning McGonagall and Dumbledore.  
  
"Ah...there you two are. You're ten minutes late." McGonagall said. It was at this point James got annoyed.  
  
"It's sometimes hard, Professor, to be a sympathizer, Head Boy, Head Girl, friend, planner of a ball, Quidditch Captain, Head Cheerleader, and a student all in one day!" he snapped. "We were both tired. We had 20 minutes before we were supposed to come down here. We both fell asleep and then we ran here when we found out what time it was." McGonagall seemed taken aback.  
  
"You will be going into the Forbidden Forest and collecting these plants for Potions." Dumbledore said. "Hagrid said you may take Fang." Lily smiled.  
  
Once outside and with Fang, Lily felt awake. She was going into the Forbidden Forest. As she walked around on the barely there path, she looked everywhere.  
  
"Are you looking for the plants?" James asked.  
  
"Yes, and something else."  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Well, one night last year, when I couldn't go to sleep, I was looking at the Forbidden Forest. And out of it came this silver-white stag. He was the most beautiful one I'd ever seen. And I've seen alot, deer are my favorite animals."  
  
"Really?" James asked smiling. He had to resist the urge to laugh, Lily had seen him! "Mine too." They had been in the Forest for an hour and a half. All of the ingredients had been collected and they were making their way back to the castle.  
  
"I've never seen him again. But I wish I would. Shiara doesn't believe I ever saw him."  
  
"Maybe he'll show soon if you watch for him."  
  
"Maybe." They were at the castle. James dropped the bag of ingrediants at Professor McGonagall's office, then both students proceded to bed. 


	5. Dreams and Pranks, Fan Clubs and Fun

Friday and Saturday quickly passed, and finally it was Sunday, the day of the Quidditch match. Lily and the cheerleaders stood smiling at the crowd. Dan Jordan was leading the commentary.  
  
  
" And the lovely Gryffindor cheerleaders, the first Hogwarts has ever had, are preparing to do their routine. Lily Evans is leading them and, MY GOD!! IS THAT LILY EVANS?!"  
  
  
The crowd was abuzz with whisphers and gasps. Lily just smiled and began to signal the girls into cheer. As her voice began to resound over the stadium, the Gryffindor players walked onto the sidelines.  
  
  
  
Lily looks awesome! She's prettier than those other girls. Dan began the commentary again.   
  
  
  
"The girls have been practicing for weeks now and they look perfect. Just like Lily." The crowd laughed. Girls in the stadium were looking annoyed, their boyfriends were looking at Lily, not them. The crowd cheered as the cheerleaders exited and the game began.  
  
  
  
" And Blossum takes the Quaffle, she's heading towards the Hufflepuff goal posts. McGee is trying to block her shot, but he misses, and- GRYFFINDOR SCORES!! Lirae of Hufflepuff is hitting a bludger towards Kilgore, who is racing towards the Hufflepuff goal posts, duck, DUCK!! At the last second Kilgore ducked and he was fine. McLeod hits the bludger at....."  
  
  
  
The commentary was going on and on. One hour later, Gryffindor was winning, 123 to 100. James was just flying around, when he saw the snitch hanging near the Gryffindor goal posts. He rushed at it. The other seeker, William Blaster, couldn't catch up and of course, James caught it. Gryffindor had won. The cheerleaders went wild. Fans surged onto the pitch. Through the noise everyone could hear Sirius' voice shout, "PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!!"  
  
  
  
At ten o'clock the part was still going strong.  
  
  
  
James had finally had enough of the girls following him, praising him. He snuck into the hamper closet,   
  
  
  
"Lumos" he muttered. And found himself face to face with Lily.  
  
  
"You have a fan club." he stated. For some reason he almost felt jealous.  
  
  
"Yes." she laughed. "So do you. Do you run away often?" she asked.  
  
  
"Ocasionally. When they don't leave."  
  
  
"Can I join the party?" Shiara's voice asked from outside. They unlocked teh door.  
  
  
"Why Lily, you're pouting. Were we interupting something?" Sirius asked with a girn.  
  
  
"Of course not." Lily glared.  
  
  
"Lily always pouts after Quidditch matches."  
  
  
"Why?" asked Remus.  
  
  
"Because she stinks at flying and it shows how James is better at two things than her. Flying and Transfiguration." Remus grinned.   
  
  
"Yes, I do recall flying lessons in our first year. Quite amusing!"  
  
  
"If I remember, Rumus J. Lupin, you couldn't fly well either!!" Lily said, eyes flashing.  
  
  
"But I eventually got off the ground." Remus said, still laughing.  
  
  
"Witch (a/n: forgive the pun) reminds me. Mom sent me some photos before the Quidditch match. I have them with me." Shiara took a pack of pictures from her pocket. The first picture was of Lily sleeping,   
  
  
  
"Look, you can see the circles under my eyes. We went to bed at 3 AM." Then came photos of Shiara sleeping, Lily and Shiara in the pool, doing hw, cooking, reading, telling stories, and having pillow fights.  
  
  
Suddenly, Lily grabbed them all.  
  
  
"Can't look at these." she said. James grinned and lunged for them. His grin grew wider as she fought him.  
  
  
"Back OFF, Potter."  
  
  
"MAKE me, Evans."   
  
Lily and James continued to fight. James finally got the pictures and immediatly began to laugh. Lily frowned. The pictures were of Mike (Shiara's brother, who is 20) trying to teach her how to fly. She eyed the broom, slowly got on, and the fell off. It was hilarious. James grew serious as he saw Mike eye Lily. The others were still laughing.  
  
  
"C'mon, lets go back to the party." Sirius said. The music was blasting and people were making lots of noise. Lily began to dance with a 4th year who had been smiling at her. His name was William Trench. He was nice and had a good sense of humor. When she sat back down to talk to Shiara, she opened her mouth, but,  
  
  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING AWAKE??? ITS PAST 1 IN THE MORNING!! TOMORROW you ALL have classes. Get to bed." Professor McGonagall screamed.   
  
  
People scattered up into their dorms, but before James was gone, Lily said,  
  
"Night Potter." His reply was a sleepy smile and a,  
  
  
"Night Lily." It was that night the dreams began.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
The next morning, Lily woke up with puffy red eyes and a blotchy face. She threw on some clothes, not caring what she was wearing. She let her hair down loose.  
  
  
"Lily, you look awful." a concerned boy whispered in her ear. James. She felt slightly sick when she looked at him.  
  
  
"Yeah." two voices behind him agreed. ^I guess they are my friends.^  
  
  
"Lily what are you wearing!?? And what happened to you?" Shiara asked.  
  
  
  
"I don't know. Allergies." Then she looked down. Her mouth flapped open. "I NEED TO CHANGE!!"  
  
  
"Nope. No time. We'll be late for everything if you do."  
  
  
  
"I can't believe I'm wearing this. I can't believe I'm wearing this." Lily chanted on her way to breakfast. James thought she looked hott, just a little different. She was wearing a skin tight, green, very short tube top dress that made her eyes turn to a deeper green.  
  
  
"You're right." Shiara said. Lily sighed with relief. "I can't believe you're wearing this without makeup."  
With that, Lily was puled into the bathroom with the "Out of Order" sign. The boys followed and watched as Shiara applied eyeshadow and lipstick. Lily looked good.  
  
  
As they walked into the Great Hall, conversation stopped.  
  
  
"Everyone is watching me." Lily muttered. James leaned down to whisper in her ear. Girls around them gasped. When James Potter whispered into a girls' ear, he was usually trying to make a move.  
  
  
"Keep you head up high. Smile. You look awesome." Lily did smile.  
  
  
It was on their way to Herbology when Lily's fan club really showed. People were following her like she was a goddess.  
  
  
"They are so annoying." she said. The biggest surprise was Booker. He didn't seem to care that she didn't love him. Actually, he seemed happy.  
  
  
Lily and James were making progress on the ball plans. They worked hard after school. Lily was anxious too get to the library. They had some horrible Transfiguration homework.  
  
  
She sat down on a chair, and began to write and read, when her eye caught on a book about cursing peoples' hair. And idea popped into her head, and she began to giggle.  
  
  
That night, nightmares invaded her slumber. Red eyes. Warnings. James? It was scary, and once she awoke, she couldn't fall back asleep.  
  
"Why not study Transfiguration." so for 2 hours she did that.  
  
  
Lily sat in the common room, waiting for Shiara and the boys. When they came down, they all noted her sleepy and tired expression, but didn't say anything.  
  
  
"Today we have Transfiguration." Remus noted.  
  
  
"Cheveaux bas." Lily said, quietly.  
  
  
By the end of the day, the school was abuzz. McGonagall had let her hair loose. It wouldn't stay in its bun, so finally McGonagall let it hang long and loose. The school realized she was young, and, actually pretty.  
  
  
Lily just giggled at the sight, and whispered loudly to Shiara,   
  
  
"I knew that'd get her goat." And that was her third prank.  
  
  
By the end of the day, Lily was fed up with the Gryffindor girls.  
  
  
"James is the hottest."  
  
"NO SIri is!"  
  
"Remus."  
  
"Hayden."  
  
"Madison."  
  
  
Shiara and Lily seeked refuge in the boys dorm.  
  
  
"HELP!!" they pleaded to James.  
  
  
"Whats the matter?" he asked, concerned.  
  
  
"The Gryffindor Cute Battle had begun early." Lily said. "When they fight for hours on who is the hottest and why."  
  
"Not fun." Shiara added.  
  
"My back aches." Lily complained. James immediatly plopped down and began to massage it.  
  
  
"Thank you sooooo much." she said, before relaxing.  
  
  
That night she went to sleep happily, but two hours later, that was not how she'd wake up.  
  
  
  
  
******************Heyyyyyyy!!!!! New part!!! Yippee!! Next chapter is the KISS!!! THE KISS!!! THE BEST PART!! Will most likely be up in two/three days. Luv ya all!! ~Trista~*************  
  



	6. The Kiss

***I know, you're all like, "The chapter beginning stinks. But I swear, if you keep reading, the good part WILL come!!******  
  
  
  
Tears were streaming down her face, and she finally understood why.   
  
  
Voldemort. He was in her dreams. Telling her people, especially James Potter, hated her.   
  
"He doesn't hate me. He doesn't hate me." she said out loud. Deep breathes. Deep breathes. Calm down. Calm down. She sighed. But was still uneasy. Voldemort. The name sent shivers up and down her spine.   
  
  
That night, all she could do was sit in a chair and try not to fall asleep. For her, her peace of mind was at stake. She sat quietly, reading her Transfiguration. When she had finished the chapter they were on, she began to plan the Welcome Back Ball. Almost all the arrangements were made, all they had to do was order them.  
  
  
By 7:00 AM, Lily was exhausted. She really need some sleep, but she was too scared. It was like a nightmare when you need someone to stay by you all night, except there was no one there for her.  
  
  
"Morning everyone!" Lily said, trying to look awake and cheery.  
  
  
" Good morning, Lils." Shiara said, searching Lily's face.  
  
  
This doesn't look good. Why is she so tired? And worn out?  
  
  
"Sleep all right, Lily?" James asked. Anyone could hear the concern dripping from his voice.  
  
  
"Yes, fine thanks. Now lets get to breakfast, I'm starving!!" Lily said, skipping ahead of them.  
  
  
The day passed by like a normal school day. There was homework, and quizzes, laughs, and lots of rushing around.   
  
  
Near 5:30, Lily and James were in the empty Charms classroom, planning the WBB. They were almost done ordering everything.  
  
  
"I think this is going to be fun." James stated.  
  
  
"Yeah. Me too." Lily agreed. ^He's kind of cute.^  
  
  
Lily was standing in front of the table, looking at all the parchments. James needed one that was in front of her. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, trying to pull her to the left. But before the realized what he was doing, his right arm was completing the cirle, and he was drawing closer to her. She turned around slowly, most likely to yell at him, but then their eyes locked.  
  
  
His lips were brushing hers in what would have been the lightest kiss in the world, but her arms encircled his neck holding him there. The kiss was soft and caring, yet at the same time searching and deep. She was melting into him, and she didn't care. Her hands were running through his hair, loving the feeling of it beneath her fingers. James was drawing her closer, as teh kiss ended.   
  
  
They broke apart, and Lily was shivering. She didn't want to admit that it had happened. James Potter hadn't kissed her. And she had not responded to the non-existant kiss.  
  
  
  
"That was wrong, James. That shouldn't have happened." she gasped. He shook his head.  
  
  
"No, whats wrong would be ignoring this feeling."  
  
  
"What feeling?"  
  
  
"The feeling that when I do this," he bent down, and lightly kissed her mouth, "you feel abit dizzy. And when I do this, you respond." And with that, he lips were pressing on hers, demanding them to respond.  
  
  
And he was right. Lily did respond. He was gently prying her mouth open, and she didn't resist. As his tounge began to taste her mouth, Lily couldn't stop the wave of sickness that was beginning to overtake her.  
  
  
Before James knew what was happening, Lily was breaking off the kiss, and running out of the room.  
  
  
Lily was shivering and almost sobbing. This wasn't happening. Not to her. James Potter could not kiss her and make her go crazy. As she ran, she saw the Great Hall, but that was her last sight as her world went black.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
James, Shiara, Remus, and Sirius were sitting in the common room, after dinner.  
  
  
"So no one has seen Lily since she went with James? And no one knows where she went? James are you sure she said she was going to the bathroom and never came back??" Shiara was going into a panic. Lily was never missing, she was on time and precise.   
  
  
At that moment, Celeste Blossom rushed into the room.  
  
  
"Shiara!! Professor Dumbledore wants you in the infirmery. Lily's really sick or something!! They think she's in a coma!!" Shiara jumped up and ran out of the common room, with the rest of the gang behind her.  
  
  
Prof. Dumbledore was waiting for them.   
  
  
"Lily is in the strangest predicament this school has seen. She can not be awaken with the most powerful awakening spell, but she is not in a coma. She is crying. Madame Pompfrey has called in experts from Saint Mungo's."  
  
  
"Oh, God." Shiara breathed. Lily was lying on a bed, her red hair stood out from her pale skin, and silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. James stood still and his heart wrenched in pain.  
  
  
"This looks bad, Dumbledore. Very bad." a tall, thin, old wizard said. "She looks like the way...you-know-who's victems look like. He in control over her."  
  
  
"We've seen this before. This should wake her." a younger wizard said. He was holding up a potion bottle of full of green liquid. Opening Lily's mouth, he poured a drop on it. Lily's eyes slowly blinked open. Shiara gave a squeal and tackled Lily with a hug.  
  
  
"You're alive, you're alive!!" Shiara repeated,over and over. Lily weakly smiled.  
  
  
"Miss Evans, we need you to explain to us why you have looked so tired for the past few days, why you blacked out, and why in your state were crying. We need to know the truth."  
  
  
Lily took a deep breath and avoiding everyone's eye said,  
  
"Voldemort has been visiting me in my dreams. Lovely little chats we have." her voice dripping in sarcasm.   
  
  
"What do you talk about?" Prof. Dumbledore asked, gravely.  
  
  
"He tells me everyone hates me. That if I kill myself it would be for the better. No one would miss. And he always points out that James would never miss me. Or that James doesn't like me. James Potter this and James Potter that."  
  
  
"So James has been mentioned lots of times?"  
  
  
"Yes. And...and I've noticed that when James is around, I feel slightly sick."  
  
  
"Did anything unusual happen that would make Voldemort try to make you black out?"  
  
  
"Well...well..." this time both James and Lily looked at the ground. "Well, James did...kiss me. And then I remember running away right before everything went black." Dumbledore nodded and looked thoughtful.  
  
  
"Miss Evans needs to take this for a week." the young wizard said. "The only times she will black out is if Voldemort is affecting her and she's scared. This potion will help boost her courage." So the Medi-Wizards left and life at Hogwarts changed once again.  
  
  
  
****I know, I know, you're like, that was horrible!! (ok, i'm hoping you won't say that) This is when everything fun happens, because in the next chapters Lily and James' romance grows apart and then together. They kissed, but they are going to try to ignore that for awhile. Luv ya all!!! ~Trista~****  



	7. Thoughts, Problems

Lily was put in the infirmery for two days, while she was regaining her strength. Madame Promfrey gave her sleeping potions, mostly dreamless potions, so that Lily could finally fall asleep in peace.  
  
  
James on the other part was a wreck. He was the one who made Lily feel so tired and horrible for the last part of the month. Well, not exactly him, but still, he convinced himself, part of the blame fell on him.  
  
  
James also felt incredibly sad. He had kissed Lily, and she had kissed him back. There was no doubting that. But they could never be together unless Lily conquered her fear (of him, and of all men in general).   
  
  
So, James, after thinking very hard and very long, decided that it would be best to ignore everything that they had both ever felt or whould have felt for each other.  
  
  
*****************************************  
  
  
Lily was still resting in the infirmery when she heard a knock at the door.   
  
"Come in." she called. James strutted in. He looked relieved and she knew why. Lily Evans was bouncing back. The shadows under her eyes were going away, and her skin was going back to its normal tone.   
  
"Hey. How're you doing?" He asked, casually.  
  
  
"Good thanks. Um....anything new?" This was a pretty stupid question, since Shiara had visited her 10 minutes ago and had updated her that Hogwarts was very boring and uninteresting.   
  
  
"Nope, nothing really. I was just wondering, next weekend is a Hogsmeade one, right? Because we really need to go and order some stuff for the ball."  
  
  
"Yep. It is a Hogsmeade weekend. And I have to get a new dress. I'm definetly going...well," Lily's face dipped into a scowl," if the nazi nurse will let me." James laughed.   
  
"I have to get going now. I just wanted to stop by, but I'm going to be late for Transfiguration if I don't leave now. See ya later!" he said, as he sped out of the room.  
  
  
  
Later at lunch, James was sitting with the gang (minus Lily). His false happiness from when he was talking with Lily had faded away, and he felt lonely inside.  
  
  
"James." Shiara softly called. He looked up. "It'll be ok. She'll be fine."  
  
  
"I know. But thats not what is really bothering me."  
  
  
"James...do you love her? Why did you kiss her? What exactly happened?" Remus asked patiently. Even Sirius looked up to see what he was going to say.  
  
  
" I don't know!" he said, running his hands through his hair, showing how frustrated he was. "This is all so messed up! I don't even know if she likes me. I didn't even know I like her before I kissed her. And I still don't understand why I kissed her. I was just trying to move her out of the way and then she was turning around. Then I was kissing her and....and...she was kissing me back."   
  
  
All four of them sat in silence for a minute.  
  
  
"You know, if Voldemort is trying to scare Lily away from you, the best thing to do to defeat Voldemort would be to stay with her. Hang out with her more. Support her, James. Help her. And I can garantee that in the end, something good will happen." Sirisu declared.  
  
  
James sighed. "But I don't know what she's thinking."  
  
  
************************  
  
Lily sat quietly thinking once Mme. Promfrey left her alone.  
  
  
"Am I in love with him?" Right away a wave of sickness came over her. She fought to keep it down.  
  
  
"I can't be in love with him. I...I'm too scared right now." Lily repeated, over and over. "Anyway, he can't be in love with me. He was just being James Potter. He only kissed me because thats what he does. Kiss the girls and make them cry." Lily found out how true that saying was, because, she was crying.  
  
  
"Its not fair! Its not fair!" she sobbed, her body shaking. Arms were wrapping around her thin body.  
  
  
"Shh....shh.....Shiara's here. Shiara's here." Lily continued to sob. "Everything will be all right, Lils. I promise. Everything will be all right."  
  
  
  
~~~***************************~~~  
Was this chapter boring? It was mostly about their thoughts. They have just gone through a time of trouble. To everyone who has stayed with this story:I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! To all the new readers: THANK YOU FOR READING!!   
  
Love,  
Trista********** (Please review!!!) 


	8. Some Random Stuff and Shopping

Lily acted suprisingly normal around James and he was trying to do the same around her.   
  
  
"Yes!" Sirius shouted in the common room.  
  
  
"What?" Lily asked.  
  
"We're going shopping today." Sirius stated.  
  
"Are you joking? You like to shop?" Lily asked, a look of disgust on her face.  
  
"Like to shop?" Remus repeated, laughing. "Sirius is almost as bad as Circe Green." Lily just shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"C'mon Lil. It won't be that bad. We'll just get you a nice simple dress for the ball....you still need to look good you know...you're the Head Girl!" Shiara stated, giving her a piercing 'No ifs, ands, or buts about it!' look.  
  
Lily sighed.  
  
"Fine, fine, fine....I give in. But only a simple dress, understand? Not your kind of simple, Shiara! I'd just end up in frills and laces, and an ugly yellow dress."  
  
  
"EXCUSE ME? I WOULD never PICK ANYTHING THAT HORRIBLE OUT!" Shiara giggled. "Thats your sister." Lily tried not to smile, but failed miserably. James finally added his own two cents to the conversation.  
  
"I need a new outfit....I've worn the other one to many times."  
  
  
"Uh, James....may I point out that you only wore that tux once?" Remus asked.  
  
"Of course, Mooney.....but once is way to many times." James stated.  
  
"Hey guys," Sirius asked suddenly. "Whats the difference between a lightbulb and a pregnant baby?"  
  
"I don't know." Lily said.  
  
"You can only un-screw the lightbulb!!" Sirius was on the floor laughing, James was grinning, Remus shaking quietly, and Shiara sobbing into a pillow. Lily just looked at the ceiling, shaking her head in exasperation, but smiling.   
  
  
"Well that just came outa nowhere didn't it?" She asked. Lily took a handful of candy off the table and began to eat it.  
  
"Wow, you just couldn't wait until we got to Hogsmeade, could you?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Well, I AM eating for two now." Lily stated calmly.  
  
"REALLY?" James asked. "Who's the father?"  
  
"Shiara." Lily said, grinning.  
  
"REALLY?" Shiara asked.  
  
"Yes....I was just so afraid to tell you!"   
  
"Don't worry honey," Shiara said, wrapping an arm around Lily. "It'll be alright." At this, Lily lost it and began to laugh.  
  
Sirius, imitating her from before said,   
  
"Well, that just came out of nowhere, didn't it?"  
  
"Yeah..." Lily said. "Just like babies."  
  
**************************  
  
They were entering the 50th shop that day. Sirius had gone psychotic in the stores, dancing around like it was Christmas. James loved to wander and look for the "perfect thing".  
  
"Um...would you like to give anyone a clue what the 'perfect thing' looks like?" Lily asked, fed up and wanting to go home.  
  
"Anything that will make me look totally hott and sexy." James stated.  
  
"Good luck finding that!" Lily said, grinning evilly while walking away.  
  
"You'll pay for that, Evans!" James yelled down the aisle.  
  
"I'm sure, Potter."  
  
They finally left the store after James had found a black collared shirt and khaki pants. Walking down the street and looking in all the stores was something that Lily was getting bored of.  
  
"Can't we PLEASE go to the Three Broomsticks? Puh-lease?" She begged Shiara.  
  
"Everyone has bought something but you. And you need the dress more than anyone else here. We're not going until we find you something." Shiara stated firmly.  
  
Lily groaned until she gasped out loud and lunged into a shop. Everyone followed, amazed at the scene before them.   
  
"Can you please take that dress out of the window?" she was asking a house-elf.  
  
"Certainly, Miss. Here you go, Miss."  
  
"Thank you so much!" Lily gushed.  
  
"Lily? What are you doing? Let me see the dress!" Shiara asked.  
  
"No! You'll see it when I try it on." Lily said, rushing into the changing rooms.   
  
They heard humming from inside the stall and looked at each other confused.  
  
"What IS she doing?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I have no idea. I've never seen her like this." Shiara hissed back.  
  
"Finished! Ready guys?" Lily called.  
  
"Yes!" They answered.  
  
She stepped out of the stall and James struggled to keep from gasping, but he couldn't help letting his mouth fall open.  
  
She was wearing a tube top, deep green gown that matched her eyes perfectly. It flowed out near the bottom,(like this- /\) and was made of a filmy satin material. She looked absolutely dazzling.  
  
"Well? Do you like it?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.  
  
"Like it?! It's fantastic! We're buying it!!" Shiara exclaimed.  
  
"Thank you God!" Lily praised. "We can finally go eat."  
  
******Was that alright? I'm so sorry for taking forever!! I promise! A new chapter will be up very, very, very soon. I only wrote this because I had trimesters today and when I checked my mail a great fan was encouraging me to continue! So I did. I hope you liked it! My favorite part is coming up soon! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! Love, Trista******* 


	9. The 4th Prank and Someone Attacks

Lily sighed as she propped her feet up on one of the numerous Common Room tables and opened her book, A Magical Way by Eyeof LeStorm.  
  
"Lily Evans and a trashy romance novel? What is this world coming to?" Shiara asked, amazed. Lily ignored her and opened to page 189. The rain, that had broke suddenly after returning from Hogsmeade, splattered against the windows, and the room was unusually cold. She snuggled further into the blanket, and began to read.  
  
She knew she shouldn't. A pure blood? And a Muggle? Her parents would be furious. But as his mouth drew closer, she forgot everything, and could only concentrate on the warmth of his lips and the heat that was spreading through her whole body. Nothing mattered except --  
  
" Well this is great. Read a romance book when your love life's screwed. Very appropriate," Lily thought. "There is a ball coming up, Lily, and you know, although you've been trying to hide it, that the thought of maybe him asking you to dance one dance is making you so dizzy--AND SICK!" Lily's thoughts skidded to a stop. "Nice time for a reality check." Lily gave a mental sigh. "I thought the point of this book was to forget about all my sad, dreary, thoughts on this dreary, horrible day. Let's give it another shot."  
  
the way he was holding her, and she knew, in her own way, that this was the purest magic she would ever find.  
  
Lily burst out laughing. It was such a corny line. "Oh, please," she muttered, oblivious to the fact that many people were looking at her. "Nothing mattered except the way he was holding her, and she knew, in her own way, that this was the purest magic she would ever find." Someone laughed behind her, and she turned, face to face with James. Her breath caught. They hadn't been this close since they kissed. Something was coming over her: her heart pounded a little faster and a feeling of...of...longing? (and disgust) welled in her throat.  
  
"Hello," she said, trying to ignore the fact that her lips had just brushed his. She found her book being torn from her hands and then read aloud by James.  
  
" His arms, strong and muscular, supported her, and drew lazy circles on her back. She shivered at the touch of his manly hands." Both Lily and James snickered.  
  
" It's a stuid book," she admitted.  
  
" You've got that right."  
  
She smiled and said, "I know it's ridiculous to read them, they're nothing like the real world. I bet Ravenclaws never..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened suddenly.  
  
" I've got to go to the library! Bye!" she called, knocking James over in her rush to get out the door.  
  
" You've already finished you're homework!" he hollared back at her retreating figure. Near the portrait, she raised a hand and waved over her shoulder. Shaking his head and looking at Shiara, all he could say was,  
  
" Blimey. She's barking mad, isn't she?"  
  
Lily was not just barking mad, but a person who was brillant/barking mad. The two were interchangeable.  
  
At the library, she was pulling off volume after volume of books with titles like, Twenty-one Thousand Strange Spells, The Zooligan Sisters' Book of Spells for the Odd Occasions: Book 3, and finally, Thrifty-Nifty Spells to Make the World More Fun by Cheap N. Tacky.  
  
One page 3,489 she found the spell she was looking for.  
  
The Trick Book Spell  
  
Use: To make a book(s) look like a romance novel with an explicit front cover to everyone but the reader!  
  
Incantation: Changerlivre  
  
Best uses: At School  
  
"Bingo," she muttered. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to find that it was already 10:00 PM. She nearly screamed out loud. The library closed at 9! Was she locked in? Where was Madam Pince? Lily had been in a remote area of the library, when you were planning a prank one usually didn't go around brandishing out your idea to the whole world, especially to people who, in a second, would tell on you if they knew that rules were going to be broken.  
  
Lily quickly put the books back and made her way to the library door. Before she could do anything, the door creaked open. No one was in sight.  
  
"Hello?" Lily asked nervously. "Is anybody there?"  
  
"It's me," James's voice said, coming from nowhere.  
  
"James? Ummm....where are you?" she asked, wondering if he was using his invisibility cloak. He materialized in front of her.  
  
"Quick, get under," James said, throwing the cloak over the two of them. "I passed Filch on his way here, so we've got to be careful."  
  
"Oh, I didn't mean to stay in here so long. Madam Pince didn't even see me come in, so that's why she never told me to leave when it was 9. I can't get in trouble again, it'll be the second time this year!" Lily moaned. Things were looking hopeless. (at least to her)  
  
" Don't worry. We'll get back to the Common Room in one piece without detention. I've done this loads of times."  
  
"What, rescue girls from the library?" James chuckled softly.  
  
" Actually, no. But I have snuck around this school many times. You need to get to the Slytherin Common Room somehow, and definitly not in broad daylight. So that leaves nighttime trips."  
  
"True," Lily muttered. The cloak was big enough so that they had a foot of space between the two of them, and Lily couldn't help but wonder how many people could fit under the cloak inconspicuously.  
  
Filch rounded the corner suddenly, and James dragged them both into a closet. Lily was held close by James, and she felt suddenly sick.  
  
" Are you all right?" James asked, concerned.  
  
"Yeah...I just feel a bit....sick." She hated the way she had to tell him, and she hated the way she was affected by him.  
  
"Oh, sorry." He took a few steps away from her. An awkward pause filled the air between them.  
  
"It's ok, it's not your fault." she said quickly. He gave her a sardonic grin.  
  
"See, technically, it is." There was another pause. " Are you ever going to tell me what you were doing in the library?"  
  
She smiled cheekily.  
  
"Trust me, you'll find out tomorrow." She listened for any sounds of footsteps before saying, " I think it's safe James." He opened the closet slowly, and then nodded. Without another word, they left and made their way back to the Fat Lady. To find she was sleeping.  
  
" Great, just great! She's sleeping at 10:30 PM??" Lily said. James didn't pay any attention, but stood next to the Fat Lady and rapped on the wall three times. Sirius's face appeared as the portrait swung open.  
  
"Good, you're back." Lily yawned and nodded at Sirius.  
  
"I'm gonna...head up stairs now. Tired...long day...shopping." Sleepiness was overcoming Lily very fast and she was moving towards the girls' dormatories as she spoke.  
  
" Night Lils!" Sirius waved cheerfully. James was already gone.  
  
  
  
In the boys' dorm, James was sitting quietly in a chair, thinking. He could have kissed her thousands of times under the cloak, but it was useless. Just being so close to her had made her sick, and he hadn't even tried anything.  
  
Maybe he should just give up....  
  
Maybe he really should, they weren't even that great of friends...  
  
He didn't even know why he liked her...  
  
James snickered. " Of course I know why I like her. She's Lily Evans. Pretty, smart, sassy, she's funny, she's different from everyone I know..."  
  
With those thoughts he drifted off to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Lily was up early the next morning. Her green eyes glittered, her hair shined, and she looked the happiest James had ever seen her.  
  
" Are you all right?" he asked, as the auburn haired girl bounded down the stairs for breakfast.  
  
"Fine! Never better!" Her black Hogwarts robes billowed out in back of her as she ran and James shook his head wondering how her parents had ever controlled her. She seemed too energetic for everyone.  
  
Shiara, caught in the spirit of Lily's happiness, was running alongside Lily, giggling about something. Remus shook his head.  
  
"I still don't think I'll ever understand girls," was Moony's statement. James chuckled and decided to finally shed his mask of perfection. Laughing like an idiot, he chased after Lily and Shiara. Sirius stared.  
  
" He's lost it. Being in love has made him bonkers. Moony," he said, looking at Remus, "if I ever become as crazy as he is, smack me." Remus grinned.  
  
" It'll be my pleasure."  
  
" Thanks Reemy, you're so dreamy," Sirius said, batting his lashes like a deranged girl at Remus. Remus slowly edged away from Sirius, saying,  
  
"Uh, gotta get to breakfast you know. See you!"  
  
Lily was sitting at the table, grinning, and piling her plate high with bannana pancakes.  
  
"Ooohh, look, some Ravenclaws," she managed to say, before completly losing her cool and laughing hysterically. Everyone looked confused, except Shiara who was snickering.  
  
" Ok, I don't even want to know," muttered Sirius. James and Remus agreed with him, sending the girls weird looks that sent them into hysterics.  
  
" Breath, breath, breath....." Lily chanted. She began to laugh again. "Its not working. I'm--I'm-I'm going to the bathroom." She left, still laughing like a maniac and earning glares from the Slytherins, who were not morning people.  
  
" Morning Rosier!!" she called to a Slytherin, who make a revolted noise at being addressed by a 'mudblood'. Lily just laughed even harder. Up at the teachers' table, Professor Dumbledore looked very confused, but he liked happy people, and smiled in an amused sort of way.  
  
As she left the Great Hall, with not a backwards glance at the Ravenclaw table, she muttered, "changerlivre". And that was where all the trouble began.  
  
* * *  
  
It was in the middle of Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws when Lily's prank became known.  
  
" Miss Acmunks! Put that book away!" Professor McGonagall called angrily. The blonde Ravenvlaw looked confused.  
  
" Excuse me Professor?"  
  
" You heard me Acmunks! Put that-that-preposterous book away this instant!" Sirius suddenly snickered.  
  
" Have you seen what the front of her book looks like?" Sirius asked in an undertone. James and Remus shrugged.  
  
" But Professor, this is my Transfiguration book!" Acmunks held it up for the class to see, not expecting them to gasp. The front cover showed a more than healthy dose of skin, the shedding of some articles of clothing, and some inappropriate actions. Mind you, wizarding drawings move so it was more affective than the cover of some Muggle books.  
  
Looking back at her book, the girl looked confused.  
  
"Whats the matter? It's my Transfiguration book." Acmunks turned to her friends for confirmation.  
  
' Abbie, I don't know where you got that book from, but this is what Transfiguration books are to look like," said the brunette girl next to her. The brunette held up her own book and the class gasped again. It was the same type of book.  
  
"CLEO! I can't believe you're reading that!" gasped Abbie, shocked. Cleo gave her a confused book. And then the whole class was laughing as Ravenclaw after Ravenclaw lifted up books with the same types of cover. Professor McGonagall ended the lesson with everyone (excluding Gryffindors) having detentions.  
  
The buzz around school was that all the Ravenclaws were accidentally bringing their private reading books to class and not noticing. No one knew how, or why, but it was nice to know that even Ravenclaws were human.  
  
"Well, one more prank to go," said Lily brightly at lunch.  
  
"Wha' 'ou mean? 'Ne more?" Sirius asked, his mouth full of mashed potatoes. He swallowed. "You've only done three!" he protested. She shook her head.  
  
"Dear Sirius, I do believe that when you put a spell on the Ravenclaws' books so they look like sex novels and they don't even know it, that counts. Right, Shiara?"  
  
"Yes, Lily." Sirius just looked amazed and asked to no one in particular,  
  
"Where does she find these spells?" Lily just smiled.  
  
"Lily," James said, " do you think we can work on the finishing touches for the Ball tomorrow? We've only got about 10 days to do everything."  
  
Lily nodded. "Yeah, I was going to say something to you about it."  
  
"Good, good."  
  
* * *  
  
The next day flew by very quickly and soon Lily and James found themselves working side by side again. Trying not to make the same mistake they had both made last time, Lily had unconsiously moved to the other side of the table. The only thing left to do was reconfirm the dates for all the food, the band, and decorations.  
  
"Now, Hagrid said he'd put up all flower decorations, Flitwick said he'd take care of the candles and enchantments, Sinistra said the night will be clear, so the Great Hall ceiling will look really pretty, I think we're all set, don't you Lils?" James asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lily sighed. James gave her a look.  
  
"Sorry, I just feel really tired today. Drained of all my energy. And somethings nagging at me, but I don't know what it is. Like a warning, but you don't know what it's warning you from. So I'm a bit preoccupied."  
  
"Let's take a walk. Give you some fresh air, that always clears my head. Anyway, I think we're just about done here." James suggested. Lily grinned.  
  
"That'd be nice," she said, and the made their way through the castle to the grounds.  
  
"It's really pretty out here," Lily said, indicating the sunset over the Forbidden Forest.  
  
"Yes," James said. But you're more pretty, Lily.  
  
"The Forbidden Forest always looks so--so--so dark. It's so creepy," Lily muttered.  
  
"No it's not," James said, contradicting her, and dragging her into the Forest.  
  
"JAMES! We can't go in there, are you crazy? There's werewolves and huge animals!" He was dragging her along, not listening to her complaints and angry tirade.  
  
"Listen,the only way you're going to get over your fear of the Forest is to conquer it. Now I don't know why you're freaking out now, when we've already been in here in the dead of the night, so be quiet and look around." They had reached an open meadow, a pretty one, Lily had to agree.  
  
She turned around to tell him so, when--  
  
15 hooded and masked wizards Apparated around her. Lily screamed as one of them screamed 'CRUCIO!' and pain beyond any Lily had ever felt before enveloped her body. And as suddenly as it had come, it had stopped.  
  
"Lily!" James cried, running over to her. She wrapped her arms around him and began to sob. The wind moved slightly in the field, and they heard a voice, cold, calm, and calculating, begin to speak.  
  
"Lily Evans," it hissed, "so we finally meet in person." Lily's body tensed and she wretched herself from James's arms to face the man that had plagued her life for many years.  
  
"Voldemort," she voice oddly calm. Her face showed no signs of terror and her crying had stopped immediately. James was hurriedly getting to his feet. Voldemort grinned.  
  
"Good, good, now that we know who we all are, we can get back to business." He said.  
  
James's voice came out the coldest Lily had ever heard it. " And what business is that?" Voldemort grinned even more broadly.  
  
"Well, well, the last Potter, coming to save a Mudblood. How...precious." The hooded figures laughed maniacly. Voldemort swished his wand, and Lily and James found themselves tied to seperate trees. Green plants were wrapping around them tightly. "Devil's snare," Lily thought. She tried to pay more attention to what was going on. Voldemort was coming closer to her.  
  
"I'm going to give yourself a choice, precious," he said, "You can either kill yourself, I can kill you, or I can kill Potter. Or I can kill both of you, but thats your choice."  
  
Lily's eyes narrorowed. Voldemort's hand traveled to her cheek and Lily cringed at his touch.  
  
" I. Hate. You." Lily spat out. Voldemort's eyes became little slits.  
  
"The feeling is mutual, trust me, Mudblood." He paused and seemed to ponder for a moment. "I suppose you've given me the answer than. You've decided to let me kill you. It'd be my delight."  
  
"Before you do," Lily managed to say, " tell me one thing."  
  
'What? What doesn't the almighty Evans not know?" Voldemort teased.  
  
'Why did you kill my parents?"  
  
Voldemort stayed oddly silent.  
  
"I suppose thats a fair questions. Because that wasn't a killing out of sport. That was carefully plotted, carefully constructed, and the whole damn plot didn't work!"  
  
"DIDN'T WORK?? MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" Lily screamed. Voldemort laughed cruelly.  
  
"No one cared about your parents, stupid girl! It was you all along! You're one of the only people that could ever have the power to harm me! You're the most brillant witch in the last fifty years! And you're too noble to ever join with me, not that I'd let you, you being what you are, so the only thing to do would be to stop you!"  
  
"By killing my parents? By making me almost a recluse? Where is the reasoning to that?"  
  
"One of my Death Eaters assured me that anyone would want to kill themselves after that happened. The guilt should have been layed on you more thick! YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOURSELF AGES AGO WHEN SOMEONE WOULD HAVE CARED!" Lily stared in horror at the man in front of her and was surprised when she heard herself ask one more thing.  
  
"And that had anything to do with James Potter ---???"  
  
"FOOL!! Only together can the two brightest people stop me!! And the only three who can are Dumbledore, you, and Potter! But that won't be a problem anymore, because I'm killing the both of you tonight and there is nothing anyone can do about it!"  
  
"But we're just teenagers!" James called. Voldemort rounded on him.  
  
"Now you are, but in two years, you'll know enough to try anything! And you'll have enough power. I have to stop you now!" Lily closed her eyes. "This is just a nightmare, Lils, just a nightmare," she thought over and over. The Devil's snare was wrapping around her tighter and tighter, it was becoming harder to breath, and she was accutely aware that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were surrounding her.  
  
"Leave," Voldemort hissed at them, "let me kill them alone." The hooded figures Apparated and the meadow was clear.  
  
" Now then," Voldemort was standing five feet away, and Lily looked down in disgust. "Say hello to Mummy and Daddy for me, Miss Evans, because you're about to go visit them."  
  
"AVADA KEDAV--OUFF" Lily looked down in surprise to find James on top of Voldemort, fighting tooth and nail. She wasn't dead. She wasn't dead! Lily began to struggle. James needed help. Her wand was still in her hand, under layers of Devil's Snare and she began to call out any spells she could think of to break through it.  
  
"LUMOS!"  
  
"PYRO!"  
  
"GRAN-PYRO!!" She began to struggle and was surprised to find herself slipping slowly down the tree trunk.  
  
"Impediamenta!" James was shouting at Voldemort. Lily landed at the foot of the tree softly, without a crash. Voldemort was screaming and suddenly she heard him shout,  
  
"CRUCIO!"  
  
James writhed to the floor in pain and before Lily knew what she was doing, she charged straight at Voldemort, screaming ever curse she could think of, body-bind, leg locker, pimples, warts, broken arms, anything to get him to stop hurting James. She found herself using her fists and her legs, and Voldemort was in actual pain. Lily was a madwoman and nothing could stop her. Nothing.  
  
Suddenly he was gone, as suddenly as he had come. Lily fell to the ground, only to jump up quickly and realize that James hadn't moved in the last few mintues.  
  
"James! James! Please James," she chanted, over and over, sobbing into his shoulder, " wake up! Wake up, James! You can't leave me! You can't!" Taking his face into his arms, she kissed him.  
  
"Please," she sobbed. " I think, I think I love you." This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. James was, if not dead now, would be soon, because she had no idea how they had got here, or where to go, and she had no idea what to do.  
  
"You're such a fool, James Potter. Why'd you have to go and save me, huh?" she asked, frustrated, angry, and very, very, sad. She was surprised when a hand touched her shoulder.  
  
"Miss Evans," said a voice that sounded oh-so familiar. It was a dear voice, attached to a dear, dear face.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?" Lily asked in amazement. The man nodded.  
  
"Please hand Mr. Potter over to Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black. They'll take good care of him, I'm sure. We need to get the two of you to the hospital wing immediately." Lily nodded, not knowing what else to do.  
  
"He's not--he hasn't--he's going to be fine?" Lily asked, voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
Professor Dumbledore looked grave.  
  
"I don't know yet, Miss Evans. We'll find out soon enough." Lily nodded and began to sob again. Remus's arms wrapped around her.  
  
"Don't worry Lily, he's a Marauder, he'll be fine." Lily looked up at Remus and gave a slight smile.  
  
"He better be, because when he wakes up, he's going to be in so much trouble."  
  
Remus grinned.  
  
"I'm sure, I'm sure."  
  
  
  
*******Yay! Finally I continued! Hope you all liked and it'll probably take another month til there is a new chapter, so don't be too anxious. Love ya lots,  
  
Trista******** 


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